An Interview with Bo
Bo, formerly known as Betty, is a Super Mod on DA who has been a member of the community since 2001. He is known for his e-feud with noted arch rival Mister E., libertarian political affiliation, and banning more spammers than was previously thought humanly possible. Where do you see yourself in the future, regarding family, employment, and life in general? In the short term, I'm a dad with 2 kids and another on the way, so I plan to keep chugging along until I can get these monsters grown, graduated, and out of my house. I've been fortunate enough to still have my job and have been living well under my budget enough to have a nest egg if anything happens to that. To be honest I'm not terribly satisfied with my line of work, but it pays the bills and my life doesn't revolve around it. My dream is to retire early and get a small place in the country where I can hunt, fish, and farm without any help from anyone. Self sufficiency is the goal. I'd like to have a big enough nestegg so that I don't have to worry about my retirement check. Feel free to surrender as much or as little of the following information as you like: education, sexual preference, height, weight, relationship status, religious or spiritual beliefs, and greatest fear in life. Education: Highschool with lots of tecbnical training in the marines in the field of comm electronics, and a stack of certifications in the building controls industry. Sexual Pref: straight Height: 5'11" Weight: 215lbs of chunky chunky. I need to lose weight.:( Relationship status: Married Religious beliefs: Born again Christian. I have a lot of faith in Christ, but frankly Moses confuses me. Moses is the biggest thorn in my side as far as my faith goes. Greatest fear in life: Something happening to my family. For those who don't know, give us the back story on that creepy pedophile dude who was calling your daughter on her private cell phone. And how did that debacle end? Did they ever catch the sicko? My wife and daughter were home when my daughter's cell rang. My daughter had one of those firefly cellphones for kids and she uses the speakerphone on it with all calls so that we can hear. Someone on the other end asked how she was doing, and what she had for lunch. Me wife thought nothing of it at first figuring it was the step dad, until the dude started getting nasty. My wife grabbed the phone and hung it up. The caller ID was blank so she couldn't figure out the number. Then the scumbag tried calling back a few times. That's when we contacted my baby's momma to see if she had any insight on what just happened. She got kinda freaked out understandably. From there we contacted the phone company to get the number. They wouldn't tell us. In the end we got with the police and a warrant was served to Verizon to get the info. They tracked it down to a landline number in Corona California. Haven't heard anything from the police since. So, no scumbag caught that I know of, but I'm hopeful. On the bright side, since the offender was so far away I feel a bit better for my daughter's safety. Aaron (Bo's kid brother, Evil Elmo, for the uninitiated) lives in Arizona but you live in Las Vegas. Where does your family originally hail from and how did you end up in the desert? We first grew up in a small town in Texas called Jacksonville. Great place. When I was 12, we moved to another small town in Louisiana where I was absolutely miserable. I got picked on a lot because of my Texas accent, which is stupid because the kids there sounded like a bunch of hicks too, just in a slightly frenchier way. I graduated highschool there at the age of 17 and immediately joined the Marines to get the hell out of town and away from my parents. My folks are good people, but they annoyed the piss out of me and I wanted to get out on my own. While I was in bootcamp, they moved to Arizona with my brother who was something like 12 or 13 at the time. I spent 10 years in the Marines, 1 year in Okinawa, and the other 9 in Southern California. I got up to the rank of sergeant, and was a bonafide senior electronics instructor during my last couple years. Best job I ever had. In my last year I went through a divorce. Initially it was pretty messy and I won't go into details out of respect for my ex wife and daughter, but in the end I had to make a choice of either staying in the Marines (I was halfway to retirement) and losing custody of my daughter, or getting out and getting joint custody. I chose the latter. So off to find a job. There was a job fair for veterans. There were a lot of positions I could've taken that would've paid $150k+ with the experience I had, but they all required a lot of travel, and that didn't jive with my responsibilities to my daughter, so I took a job in Las Vegas as an Alerton programmer that payed about a third of that, but didn't have all the travel so I could see my daughter. Fast forward 4 years later and here I am remarried to a tall slim scandanavian nurse who is 4 years younger than me (that divorce worked out pretty good eh?), still have my daughter 50% of the time, with a new son, and another on the way. Happy, financially stable, and much less stress than before. Please explain the back story on the following bannings, assuming you actually know anything about them: Caddis, Eeper, Powerboss, LionOfIslam, The face of Jacob, and Samson. Caddis: I know who banned him, but not sure about the details. I've asked but it was so long ago that even they've forgotten what it was for. So why he was banned in the first place, beats me. As for why he's rebanned, that's all on him. I stuck up for the guy for a LONG time thinking I was doing the right thing, but in the end the guy just can't stop trashing the board and it's staff, and we've got no obligation to put up with it. Eeper: I think she was banned for being a psychopathic stalker who was harrasing another member, or something to that effect. Powerboss: Too long ago. I honestly can't remember. LionOfIslam: Actually he's not banned. He just doesn't post anymore out of embarrassment because he was exposed to be a new signup from a white gangsta wannabe drug dealer named Kareem who was banned for threatening violence on another member. The face of Jacob: Honestly, that we me abusing my power. The guy annoyed the shit out of me and so many other people that I just banned him because I couldn't stand his ass anymore. It all started with a flame war that I got into with him, eventually the guy got nasty and started going off the deep end flaming the entire staff. I took a step back and said, "Why am I putting up with this shit?" A mod is like a bouncer at a bar. You don't get into a fight with the bouncer and not expect to get thrown out. So out he went. Don't fuck with the bouncer. Samson: I think he was just plain old excessive non-top trolling and posting nasty disgusting shit all over the place. Are there any members of DA you have on ignore? Have there been users in the past you put on ignore? Not currently, but sometimes I consider putting Fat Mike on iggy just because his gay ass drama threads and illegible posting style irritate me. In the end I find ignore to be pointless anyway/ I can still see that they posted, and I always click to read it anyway. Tell us a crazy story from your time spent with the Marines, assuming there are any. During my first year in MOS school we used to go down to Tijuana a lot to party. At the end of one weekend we had one guy almost bone a tranny hooker, another guy got busted for smuggling cuban cigars, and me and my buddy got mugged by the mexican police and almost thrown in jail. What kind of programming do you specialize in? And what are your job responsibilities as a "Programmer of sorts?" I'm a building automations programmer. Basically one big computerized system that controls lighting, AC, etc... You can see every temperature, fan status, light status, CO2 reading, and airflow in an entire building/campus from a webpage. In the years you have been old enough to vote, who did you vote for in the U.S. presidential elections, in order of earliest election to most recent? In 2004 I voted Mike Badnarik for President. In 2008 I voted for Bob Barr. Please give a brief overview of the e-rivalry between you and noted DA antitheist Mister E. Does he annoy you on a personal level or is it more the general nature of his posts that pushes it over the edge? The guy has a seething hatred for religion. I think it's unwarranted and I see him as nothing but a bigot. He on the other hand sees me as a brainwashed troglodyte for believing in God. I'm not sure where it started, but naturally we butted heads quite a bit. We're both pretty proud of our views and will defend then tooth and nail. You don't seem to be much of an active participant in the debates these days. Do you see yourself as more of a poster or a lurker in recent times? And is your lack of participation due more to moderator responsibilities occupying time that could be spent posting or is more lack of interest in argumentation online? Most of it is because I've been here since 2001. I don't want to sound cocky, but I've seen it all. When I read a thread on abortion, religion, politics, left vs right, guns, jews, muslims, 9/11, race, whatever, I see the same goddamn arguments and debate tactics over and over again. I haven't seen anything original in a LONG time. So, it just seems pointless for me to jump in and debate when I already know what the opposition's response will be, the counter response, and the counter-counter response, ad nauseam... I can occasionally get something good out of philosophical debate where people have to think on their own, but even then they start quoting others just because they're unable to think for themselves. You've recently expressed some interest in retiring from DA and its myriad instances of loldrama. Was there any incident in the particular that prompted this decision or is it more a general feeling that it is becoming a grind? It's a combination of all the stuff I mentioned in the last question, and the fact that I think it's taking up too much of my time. I really could be doing better things. Describe your position on the right to bear arms as it relates to the following weaponry—handguns, assault rifles, bazookas, tanks, and nuclear waste/other materials required for building a dirty bomb. Handguns and assault rifles are the right of every American as far as I'm concerned. Some people will take a strict interpretation to think that extends to bazookas and tanks and shit, but I don't. Every man and woman has a right to defend themselves from other men and women. I don't even really see that as just a constitutional right, but as a basic right as a human to be able to use weapons to defend yourself with a weapon. Guns are typical weapons of modern human beings the way claws are the typical weapons of bears and lions, and we have the right to use them in my eyes. The funny thing is that the original gun control laws in this nation were racist in nature, and used to prevent blacks from arming themselves against whitey. Not cool. As far as tanks and bazookas go, you don't need a tank or a bazooka to defend yourself. Bazookas and tanks are for killing en masse. That kind of stuff should be available to a militia, perhaps, but not a single person. The nuclear stuff is a tool of genocide, which our founding fathers most definitely did not have in mind when they wrote the 2nd amendment. You must have seen a lot of members come and go over the years. Is there anyone in particular you wish you could bring back? And are there any tards you wish would have left sooner? I really miss TheLateGreat. He was politically incorrect in the most savvy and interesting way. The guy had the ability to say something off the wall and offensive that would make you chuckle and think deeply at the same time. He rarely posts anymore. It's a shame. I met the guy once when I moved to Vegas. We went to go see Jackass2 at the theater. Good guy, but not quite what most people would expect. There is someone who I wish would go away, but I'm not going to call him out. I think he's an idiot, but I don't see him doing anything that would make me want to ban him. I just find his close-mindedness and stupidity irritating. If he left on his own though, I'd throw a party. There's also a female type there who I wish would leave just because she's a snotty arogant bitch with a chip on her shoulder, but, hey, nothing to ban her for. Some people like her and I can respect that. How did you meet your wife? How long have you been together? Met her online. We went on our first date to the Mandalay Bay Aquarium. She thought I was creepy, but I eventually grew on her. I don't give up when I see a good thing. We've been together about 3 and a half years now. She's the one who got me into church, and straightened out my life in more ways than one. I owe a lot to her. Best thing that's ever happened to me. And now for some personal preference trivia—Pepsi or Coke? Pepsi Leno, O'Brien, Ferguson, Kimmel, or Letterman? And why? O'Brien followed by Kimmel. The others I really don't care about. Coco is just plain funny, Jimmy too. Favorite song, movie, book, band/artist, U.S. president, and other. Favorite song changes every month. Metallica's whiplash, Tool's Aenema, and Stevie Ray Vaughan's Empty Arms come to mind a lot. Movie: Aliens! Book: 13 Bullets by David Wellington Band: Led Zepp President: Thomas Jefferson Shoe manufacturer: Timberland Car manufacturer: Tesla Motors Play: Carmen Most pleasurable banning of DA tard? I really enjoyed banning Erik Mayer, aka the pedospammer. The first time was when he was talking about vandalizing his school and trying to recruit people to hack some site, so I banned him for inciting illegal activities and contacted his school district with all his information. After that he came back over and over again, eventually he got in trouble with the authorities because he messed with another site who's owner contacted the FBI over the pedophile stuff he was posting. As long as you have everyone's attention, is there anything else you would like to share at this time? For crissake people think for yourselves. Just because a judge says something is true doesn't mean it's true. Just because other liberals/conservatives/whatever support something doesn't mean you have to. Just because something is a law doesn't mean it's right.